Want to downgrade from iOS 18 beta to iOS 17? If you’ve installed the iOS 18 developer beta, the initial appeal of the new home screen customization, Photos app, and Control Center features may wear off as you face software stability issues. But that’s the risk you accept when choosing beta.
However, if you haven’t fully considered these effects and want to roll back, here’s how to roll back to the stable iOS 17 version from the iOS 18 developer beta without data loss. This process also works for downgrading from iPadOS 18 to iPadOS 17.
Can you restore to a previous iOS version from a backup?
If you have backed up your iPhone iTunes Or inventor Before updating to iOS 18, you may be tempted to restore it immediately. While you can restore a backup made on iOS 17, your iPhone running iOS 18 – it will only restore your old data and apps. It will not roll back the software version.
You also can’t create a new backup on iOS 18, downgrade to iOS 17, and then restore an iOS 18 backup. Apple prohibits restoring backups of newer iOS versions to older ones because of potential incompatibilities in data structures or features—iOS 17 doesn’t know what iOS 18 is.
To roll back from iOS 18 to iOS 17, you will need to use recovery mode, That will erase everything on your iPhone. However, you can restore your data later depending on your backup status:
- If you have an iTunes or Finder backup from iOS 17: Downgrade your device to iOS 17. After downgrading, restore the same backup using iTunes or Finder.
- If you have an iCloud backup: Downgrade your device to iOS 17. After downgrading, restore your iCloud backup to restore apps, files, and other data.
- If you don’t currently have a backup: Before downgrading, manually backup your iPhone data to iCloud (if possible). If you don’t have enough iCloud space, save your important files to another cloud service or your computer. Then you can restore them after downgrading.
Roll back from iOS 18 beta to iOS 17 stable version
Now that you know how to restore your data after downgrading, let’s go through the steps to roll back from iOS 18 beta to iOS 17. You can use recovery mode on your iPhone (or iPad) to do this. Here’s how:
Prerequisites
- A Mac computer with Finder or a Windows computer Installed iTunes.
- Your iPhone or iPad runs iOS 18 or iPadOS 18, respectively.
- Your Apple ID (now, Apple Account) and password to activate iPhone after restoring iOS 17.
Step 1: Put your iPhone into recovery mode
1. Turn off your iPhone by pressing and holding the Power/Side key and either volume button until the power-off slider appears. Then, slide to power off.
2. Press and hold the Power/Side key on your iPhone and immediately connect it to a Mac or Windows PC. Hold the power key. For iPad, check Button combinations.
3. The Apple logo will appear on your iPhone. You can release the power key at this point.
4. Your iPhone will automatically enter recovery mode. You will see a black screen with a cable and an arrow pointing to the laptop.
5. On your computer, accept the prompt to allow the iPhone to connect.
Step 2: Roll back to iOS 17 from iOS 18 beta using Finder/iTunes
1. If you’re using a Mac, open Finder. On Windows, open the iTunes app.
2. Your iPhone will appear in the sidebar menu in Finder. Click on it. On Windows, click the iPhone icon in the upper right corner.
3. A pop-up will appear asking if Update Or restore Your iPhone. Click restore.
4. Then, click on Restore and update In the next pop-up.
5. Accept the terms and follow the prompts on your screen. Wait until your iPhone is restored.
Your iPhone will download the latest stable software available – iOS 17. The entire process may take around 15-20 minutes. We restored the iPhone 15 Pro Max, which downloaded about 8GB of data.
After that, your iPhone will automatically boot into iOS 17. Disconnect it from your Mac or Windows PC and then Restore your backup Via iTunes, iCloud or the method you chose earlier. This way, you have successfully downgraded iOS version while saving all your data.
You can always rejoin the developer beta or wait for the public beta (released in July). Alternatively, you can wait for the stable public release expected this September, which will also set to bring Apple Intelligence features to the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max.